By Alexei Adashkin: President Alexander Lukashenko has met with Russia’s Sberbank Chairman Herman Gref to discuss the situation in the world economy and its impact on the financial sectors of Belarus and Russia. The main subject of today's talks was the development of relations with Sberbank and the transition to a new cooperation stage on Belarus’ banking market. Herman Gref thanked the President, Government and National Bank of Belarus for constructive support provided in difficult situations arising in 2015 and 2016.
The financial holding Sberbank is the largest investor in Belarus’ economy, with its subsidiary BPS-Sberbank operating in the country. Sberbank's share in Belarus’ banking system assets exceeds 12 % while BPS-Sberbank’s assets in the country exceed 2.5 billion dollars. The services of the financial company are used by 1.5 million Belarusians.
Last year, the Sberbank group allocated about half a billion dollars to Belarusian oil sector enterprises. Another 61 million dollars was invested in the country’s energy complex. The bank plays an important role in preferential crediting of purchasing Belarusian equipment in Russia. The mechanism has allowed selling more than 6,000 machines.
A month ago, BPS-Sberbank launched a new system of cross-border payments. Export transactions between Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan now take only 30 minutes.
